NEW LEGISLATIONWE ASSIST THE GOVERNOR WITH EARLY CHILDHOOD SYSTEM ISSUES.

In 2007, federal law required the Governor of each state to create a new body or designate an existing body as the State's Early Childhood Advisory Council. This council serves in an advisory capacity to the Governor on early childhood system issues relating to workforce, higher education, quality of early childhood programs and services, access to early childhood programs and services, professional development, and special populations. Through a memorandum of understanding in 2008 and legislation in 2010, Governor Brad Henry appointed the Oklahoma Partnership for School Readiness to serve as Oklahoma’s State Early Childhood Advisory Council. This designation paved the way for Smart Start Oklahoma to be eligible to apply for federal ARRA funds. Read Oklahoma's applicationhere.The application was granted for 3 years of funding for OPSR to carry out the work as Oklahoma's State Early Childhood Advisory Council. In order to better support the efforts of our state in meeting the needs of the newly developed state Early Childhood Advisory Council, seven workgroups have been developed to allow full participation of the general public. We invite you to participate with us by serving on one of these workgroups.If you are interested in joining any of the workgroups, or would like more information, please email info@smartstart.org or call (405)-278-6978.

OKLAHOMA PARTNERSHIP FOR SCHOOL READINESS MOUSE OVER THE YEARS TO LEARN MORE.

2000

Governor's Task Force on Early Childhood formed by Executive Order of Governor Frank Keating.

2001

Exhaustive report published highlighting strengths, weaknesses and needs of Oklahoma's early childhood programs.

2002

Local grassroots efforts evolve through partnership with United Way, Bank of America and Oklahoma Department of Human Services.

2003

Governor Brad Henry signed into law the Oklahoma Partnership for School Readiness Act, creating a council of state leaders who advise on the needs of the overall early childhood system.

2008

Governor Brad Henry designated the Oklahoma Partnership for School Readiness as the State's Early Childhood Advisory Council as established by Federal Law.

2010

Oklahoma legislation confirms that the Oklahoma Partnership for School Readiness will serve as the State's Early Childhood Advisory Council.

OPSR Board Structure

In May 2015, the OPSR Board adopted a new, innovative structure for carrying out its work. Utilizing affinity groups, board members now participate in focused conversations informed by each member's unique perspective and expertise. These groups address their legislative charges by examining the state's early childhood system and carrying out efforts to improve early childhood services for Oklahoma's children and families.

State Agency Leaders

This group is made up of individuals representing the perspective of state agencies responsible for administrating state and federally funded early childhood programs and services.

Chair: Ed Long

Business, Philanthropic, and Community Leaders

This group is made up of individuals representing the local perspective of Oklahoma foundations, families, businesses, the workforce, and the economy.

Chair: Kathy Cronemiller

Early Childhood Professionals

This group is made up of indviduals representing the perspective of professionals with specialized knowledge in the field of early childhood, including: program administrators, direct-service providers, researchers, and educators.

Chair: Anthony Stafford

Executive Committee

The executive committe includes the OPSR board officers and affinity group chairs.

Chair: Natalie Burns

Vice Chair: Ray Potts

Finance and Operations Committee

This group is made up of OPSR Board members with expertise in business, financial, and contract management.